Love is Like the Sea
by crest and cradle
Summary: Percy is forced by the gods to accept godhood after everything that he has done. This causes a rift in his relationship with Annabeth, leaving Percy to contemplate a lot of things. Will he be able to mend things with Annabeth? Does that even matter now that he is a god?


**Hi! This is my first fanfiction on this site please let me know how I did.**

 **It is sorta written for after the giant war, but has no real place in the timeline although it is in the cannon universe.**

 **Anyways pleas enjoy!**

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The sky was overcast with heavy, dark clouds. A strong wind blew constantly off the ocean water, causing the waves to break and crash violently as they neared the shore. My arms turned to goose flesh in the cold air and my hair whipped wildly about my eyes in the wind. I stared blankly at the incoming waves relentlessly pounding the base of the rocks that I was perched on. The sea spray soaked my shoes and the bottom of my pants, but I could hardly be concerned with that. There was only one thing that mattered in my life. The gods had declared it themselves – my place was beside the ocean.

Who was I to argue with them? I was a son of Poseidon after all. I had always been drawn to the ocean my entire life. It gave me strength when I had none. It protected me when I had neglected myself. I could feel the ocean inside me like it was an extension of my own body. The ocean ran through me deeper than any bone. I couldn't deny that.

So, the gods decided my place should eternally be with the ocean. I had no choice in the matter. They tried to make it sound like it was some great honor, which I should be on my knees thanking them for. I knew the truth though. I had ticked one too many of them off. I had insulted them just a little too much. They were punishing me by making me accept godhood. They said they would bind me to the ocean so that I could never leave, because that is where my power and source my immortality shall lie. I would be forced to forever protect the ocean from danger and guide others to avoid its wrath.

I mean it made sense. I was perfect for that job. The ocean was calm most of the time, but it could become so ferocious that even I could barely handle it. However, I knew the signs that foretold when it was going to rage before it actually did. It even brings me pleasure to know I can do that when others can't. That such intimate knowledge is mine and mine alone. There wouldn't be a day I hated that job. I remember the time when I was in Poseidon's underwater palace with him. I had begged him to let me stay and help fight the war against Oceanus, but he told me my place was on land. I couldn't believe how wrong he was. Now, I was getting that wish.

The only problem was that it came at a cost of a lot of other things.

When Annabeth heard the verdict, she was so hurt that she couldn't look at me. She couldn't even stand to be near me. I got one glimpse of her pained, tear-filled eyes before she took off running away from me. You might think her reaction should have been different. That she would be running toward me instead. Except that just wasn't Annabeth. She had this problem with confronting her emotions when they got the best of her. She could swallow down almost any pain or fear, but other things were just too big for her to even chew. I understood that. So, I didn't run after her. I gave her the time and space she needed to calm down and understand the true gravity of the situation. I waited for her by the secluded area of the shoreline where the rocks kept most everyone else from going to until she finally came as I knew she would.

Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy. Tear streaks marred her face, though they looked dry at this point. Her fists were balled tightly at her sides and her eyes still couldn't reach mine. She came back to me though. That was the important thing. That was the first step to making things better. I gave her a small smile and shifted my position so that she could seat herself next to me on the rocks. Annabeth shivered when she sat down and pulled her legs up underneath her so they wouldn't get wet like mine. Nothing passed between us but silence for a while. However, her presence filled me with enough confidence to find my voice eventually.

"You know, even in weather like this the ocean is beautiful." I knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but I was having trouble finding the appropriate words.

"Why?" she asked. Her voice was broken and quiet. It broke my heart.

I shrugged my shoulders and cocked my head, still looking out at the water. "I don't know. Maybe it's just eternally beautiful. Nothing can change it. Not that I'd want to."

Annabeth snapped her head in my direction. When I turned to meet her eyes I was met with her death glare. The grey of her eyes was like the steel of a blade – sharp and cutting. "No, Percy. Why did accept it? How could you do that?"

"I already tried to explain it to you," I responded weakly.

"You mean your stupid reasons about how you love the ocean and you've always wanted to stay beside it? I get that it's a part of you, Percy, but isn't there more to your life? I thought – I always thought that…." Her voice broke as she tried to find the sentiment she was looking for. I knew what she was trying to say though. It probably would have hurt more to hear her say the words. After everything if she questioned me, I couldn't bare that. I wanted nothing more to wrap my arms around her and hold her until my arms fell off. She wouldn't let me though. At least not right now.

"Annabeth," I started and then stopped myself. I had to think about what I was going to say next. I didn't think I could afford to be misunderstood one more time. Of course, that only made me nervous and then I started to ramble. "I've always wanted to live beside the ocean. Even if it isn't calm and beautiful most of the time, I want to live beside the ocean. Because even when if turns into a destructive storm or the water is drowning the land I still find it beautiful. I guess that's just the ocean's way of saying it's untamable, and I love that. For as long as I have known you, Annabeth, you've reminded me of the ocean in that way. In the same way I've come to understand and love the ocean, I've come to understand and love you."

Annabeth stared at me silently after I finished. Her expression was hard to read, but I think mostly she was a little taken aback. Rarely did I ever come up with romantic stuff like that. I even surprised myself a bit. When I started speaking I had no idea what I was going to say.

"How does that make anything better?" she croaked. Her eyes were beginning to fill with fresh tears.

"Because, Annabeth, the gods are giving me exactly what I want – a permanent place beside the ocean. Which, for me, is you." I reached out and grabbed her hand. As soon as my fingers touched her an electric shock passed between us, but it didn't hurt. It felt warm and intoxicating. "They can bind my soul to you all they want."

Finally Annabeth let herself come into to me. She closed the space between us, wrapping her arms around me. I engulfed her in my arms and squeezed her as tightly as I could without crushing her. Her tears were hot against my neck as she buried her face against my shoulder. Even so, I had never been happier in my life. I liked to think she felt the same way too.

"You could have just said that in the first place," she mumbled.

I blinked. The realization of what I put her through just dawning on me. I hadn't meant for it to sound like I was leaving her, but I guess that's what it seemed like to her. "Uh, yeah, I could've."

"Seaweed Brain."

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 **Thank you all for reading my short story. Criticism is welcome. I do recommend though that you go back and in each reference to the ocean you try and relate it to Annabeth from Percy's perspective, because that is how I wrote it.**

 **If you enjoyed please Review!**


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